가정 및 학교에서의 아동체벌에 관한 국제인권기준 분석 및 국내법 검토

International standards of children's rights have moved towards eradicating physical punishment of children by parents and teachers. Universal human rights treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, are interpreted towards banning corporal punishment of children at home and at school. Regional human rights treaties, including the European Social Charter (Revised), the European Convention on Human Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, are also considered legal grounds against corporal punishment of children in family and educational settings. Furthermore, universal and regional human rights treaty bodies strongly require states parties to take all measures to end corporal punishment of children in families and schools. Recently, Korea shows ground-breaking development with regard to corporal punishment of children in educational settings. Corporal punishment of children has been used as one of the most popular disciplinary methods in Korean families and schools for hundreds of years. However, Korea's Act on Elementary and Secondary Education and its Enforcement Decree started prohibiting direct corporal punishment of children in schools from 2011. However, this development is not sufficient for complying with the international human rights standards of corporal punishment of children. Direct corporal punishment is still inflicted of elementary and secondary school students in practice even after its legal prohibition. Korea's educational law does not provide any limitation on indirect corporal punishment of students. There is little discussion on parental corporal punishment in Korea. Worst of all, children's fundamental rights or human rights in terms of their physical integrity are not respected in Korea. Therefore, this article proposes three solutions to improve Korean law and practice of corporal punishment of children in families and schools, in comparison to international human rights law of corporal punishment of children. First, this article suggests that Korean society, particularly Korean courts and academic community, should pay attention to children's rights which are guaranteed under the Korean Constitution and the international human rights treaties Korea has ratified with regard to children's freedom from corporal punishment. Second, this article emphasizes importance of government campaigns to raise public awareness against corporal punishment of children. Third, this article presents three-phased legal reforms with regard to corporal punishment of children. The first-phased legal reform relates to revision of the Constitution. The second-phased legal reform relates to enactment of the Act on Children's Human Rights. The third-phased legal reform relates to revision of the current Act on Elementary and Secondary Education and the current Civil Act. These legal reforms include clear prohibition of direct corporal punishment of children, restriction on indirect corporal punishment of children, emphasis on responsibilities of families, schools and the State, and establishment of remedy systems.